Chapter Two - Gabriel
Gabriel
I FELL IN lust with Harper the first time I saw her, two years ago. She came up to the executive floor to deliver something to my personal assistant. She was wearing one of the black pencil skirts that seems to be her self-designated uniform and a flowery blouse.
Maybe she thinks those long skirts are conservative, but they stretch over her ass as if they were made just for her. Just thinking about it makes me hard. Which means I’m perpetually hard, since I can’t stop thinking about her.
In the last two years, no other woman has made me forget Harper. My cock just isn’t interested.
She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Yet, she’s never looked more beautiful that today, in virginal white.
Since she entered the wedding hall, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her. The simple white dress is perfect for her curves.
She tried hard to look strong and happy in front of her brother, but there’s a vulnerability in her dark brown eyes, that’s endearing.
I try to focus on the Officiant’s words. I want every single one of them to be true. For this marriage to be real and bring true happiness.
Until I proposed to Harper, I didn’t know how much I wanted to have her permanently in my life.
Oh, I was mad with need for her. There was no other way to describe it apart from obsession. What else would I call the fact that she was on my mind in the morning, at night, and day when I should be thinking about work?
Every time I thought no one was looking, I watched her secretly. I looked up her records, so I’d know as much about her as I could. Six months ago, when she moved up to the executive floor to assist Mrs. Hall and I could see her daily without having to make any excuses to wander to the admin department, my obsession intensified.
The three weeks she covered for my personal assistant, and I had to talk to her, were hell. Because I discovered it wasn’t only her body I liked. Her perky voice and bright smile became a new thing to obsess over.
I’ve liked Mrs. Hall’s reserved temperament for years as it matches mine, but suddenly hearing Harper’s cheerful voice and watching her smile makes me feel good.
Seeing and hearing her constantly made it impossible to drive her smile and delectable curves away from my mind. Only the strong will I developed over years of hardship and hard work enable me to focus.
However, I didn’t realize I wanted to wake up next to her every day of my life. The moment I figured out she was about to give her body to the highest bidder at The Club, I knew. That was only going to happen over my dead body. So, like the negotiator I’ve become, I put the best terms on the table that would make it impossible for her to refuse my offer.
“Gabriel, do you take Harper Elaine Hamilton to be your lawfully wedded wife from this day forward–to have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health? Will you love, honor and cherish her for as long as you both shall live?” The Officiant asks.
“I do,” I say, meaning the words, as I watch Harper.
She keeps her gaze on me as the Officiant asks her the same question.
“I do.”
I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
My friend Damon comes forward with the rings.
I’m so nervous, my hands feel heavy as I take Harper’s hands and slowly glide her ring over her finger.
She places my ring on my finger, too.
“By the power vested in me by the beautiful state of Arizona, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The officiant smiles at us. “Congratulations. You may kiss the bride.”
I watch pink stain Harper’s cheeks and my heart races. Something about her innocence drives me wild.
I stare back at her dark brown eyes and cup her cheeks. Slowly, I lower my head until I’m a breath away from her. She closes the gap and our lips touch. It’s the most innocent kiss I’ve ever experienced, yet something inside my chest tightens.
So does my cock.
Loud cheers and claps remind me we’re not alone. Gently, I pull back and breathe in and out, trying to control my body and forget that alien feeling in my chest.
As Damon shakes my hand and backslaps me, Selena and Oscar hug Harper.
It’s just the five of us and the photographer in the hall, but Selena and Oscar are so loud, it sounds as if there are double the amount of people.
After we sign some paperwork, we take photos inside the hall. Holding Harper feels right. Like she belongs with me. At five feet-eight inches, she fits perfectly under my shoulder but in heels, like she is now, she reaches my shoulder.
“Will the groom please smile down at the bride?” The photographer shouts out after asking me to carry Harper.
“I think Harper is a bit too heavy to carry. Are you okay, Gabriel?” Oscar asks, his face a picture of concern.
I can feel my cheeks heat.
“He has a lot of muscles, Oscar. He’s fine,” Damon says in a strangled voice.
I want to kill him. I’m almost regretting hiring the photographer, whom he recommended.
I lift my lips. I’m good at many things, smiling is not one of them.
“Just a little wider,” the photographer croons, posed at an awkward angle, to get the best shot he can.
“Say cheese,” Oscar calls out, trying to help and failing.
I glance at Harper. Her honey skin is flushed, like mine must be.
“We don’t have to take it,” she says.
Oh, no. We’re taking it. I want her to have proper wedding photos.
“I can carry you for another hour,” I whisper.
Her skin goes darker. Confusion fills her eyes, making her look cute and sexy simultaneously. Of their own volition, my lips lift.
The camera clicks repeatedly.
“Gorgeous. Gorgeous. All together, now,” the photographer says.
We take a few more pictures, then move to the small garden outside. The early summer sun shines brightly on the garden and the photographer insists on taking more photos there.
“It’s time to throw the bouquet,” Selena says after the photographer leaves.
“You’re the only bridesmaid. Here.” Harper holds out the flower arrangement, but Selena moves back.
“Throw it,” Oscar says.
Harper chuckles. That tight feeling in my chest returns. I stare at the dimples on her cheeks and the tender expression in her eyes. She cares for Oscar and Selena. It’s clear in the way her gaze warms whenever she looks at them. Even her voice sounds different when she talks to them.
I want her to look at me that way, too.
“You’re smitten. The cold, die hard bachelor has at last fallen.” Damon comes up beside me.
I frown. Damon chuckles.
“You really have it bad. You don’t even know it. I’d like to be a bee in your house and watch the fun unfurl,” he adds.
“What are you up to now?”
I really don’t know how we’ve stayed friends for more than a decade. He spends most of his free time at clubs and parties. Wherever he goes, he’s the soul of the party, whilst I’m completely the opposite. My idea of a good time is programming or swimming. But occasionally, we drink together and actually enjoy each other’s company.
“You’re in love with Harper,” Damon whispers.
“Count before you throw it,” Oscar laughs.
I watch Harper as she throws the bouquet over her head.
Is wanting her beside me and always needing her to be safe love?
It’s not something I’d know. Growing up, I felt little love. The people who took care of me and the other kids in the homes I was raised in did their jobs and went home. Sometimes, there were kind adults who smiled and praised me when I did something good. Most of the time, the workers just didn’t care. I preferred it that way.
The kind ones always left. And the other type, the ones who enjoyed hurting kids, never left.
When I was twenty-three, I thought I was in love. Sandra was a socialite. She said she was in love with me, too. But only a few months after we started dating, and I wanted to make things more serious, she admitted to only wanting to know how it felt to sleep with a self-made, scarred man with a shady past. She’d never been with anyone who wasn’t flawless. I was good in the sack, she’d said, so she didn’t want to break up, but she wanted to make it clear she only wanted the excitement of the unknown.
The small hope growing inside of me I’d at last found love, that despite being abandoned, there was someone who cherished me, was fast extinguished.
I’d rather trust in lust. Of course, I want to protect Harper. I want her safe so I can enjoy her body for the rest of our lives. Taking care of her, her family and making her happy means taking care of me.
It’s just like business. I give value to receive value. I want her to trust me the way she trusts Oscar and Selena.